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Chapter 6
Summary As night begins to fall, the island becomes very dark and quiet, but off in the distance above them, a military battle is going on. As the fight takes place, Sam and Eric who were in charge to keep the signal fire going, have fallen asleep, losing the chances to one of the airplanes seeing the boys signal fire, but most importantly missing their chance of being rescued. During the whole commotion above, a plane was shot down causing a pilot to parachute down to island, who was killed in the air as he was falling. The unresponsive and silent parachutist descends onto the island, getting trapped and tangled between the trees and rocks. Soon after, Sam and Eric wake up and see a very vague shadowy image, and quickly assume its the terrifying and dreaded beast that supposedly lurks the island. This shadowy image is just the fallen parachutist that is being blown back and fourth in the wind. The two boys run as fast as they can back to the camp to warn the rest of the group. In response the crew leader Ralph, calls a meeting and begins discussing what the two boys saw and what they are going to do about it. As the meeting goes on, much fear and terror is in the air. The group of boys make a plan on which they will go through uncharted land of this island to track and hunt down the beast. The boys go through treacherous terrain, going through caves and up several hills. Ralph soon says to the boys that they need to go back to the mountain to rebuild the signal fire, but the boys do not listen right away, and soon being playing games, and fooling around with one another. But then the group grudgingly obeys to Ralph's command of heading back to the mountain, in which they meet up with the littluns and the rest of the crew. Analysis Throughout the book, the balance between savagery and civilization shifts as the boys discover that there might be a beast lurking somewhere around the island. In the beginning of Chapter 6, a dead figure falls out of the sky, who appears to be a grownup, lands on the ominous island. It's a sign symbolizing the end of the existence of the grownups for the boys. It's a meaning concluding the connection holding the boys back from breaking the rules and their morals has disappeared. "But a sign came down from the world of grownups, though at the time no child awake to read it."(Golding p.g 95) Most of the boys have been leaning towards the savage side, and following their id. Nothing can hold the boys back from doing unmoral things, whose cruel desires and deeds have taken over. The dead figure represents the end of rules and domination over the boys on the island. When everyone ignores Ralph and his commands, we can indicate Ralph's authority is coming to an end. The boys don't really care if they get home as fast as they could or not. Near the end of the chapter, Ralph tries to remind them that they are on this mission to hunt down the beast, and to return back to the mountain so they can maintain the fire. No one is paying attention to him at this point, they all stay and fool around near the rocks as Ralph isn't taken seriously. It seems as though the boys could care less if they get home or not at this point. "Why can't we stay here for a bit."(Golding p.g 108) Since the only one that lead the boys to leave was Jack, we can conclude that authority is being conveyed to his side instead of Ralph. The boys mostly side with Jack because he appears like a hero for killing the pig earlier. In "Lord of the Flies", the conch is an example of allegory. Allegory is used to represent a story, poem, or picture that interprets to reveal a hidden meaning. In this case, the conch represents civilization, with each passing chapter the conch is being misused and forgotten. The role of the conch is to make sure everyone is organized and gives the person the right to speak when its in their possesion. We know civilization is deteriorating when Jack refuses to acknowledge the conch when speaking. "We don't need the conch anymore. We know ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill, or Walter?"(Golding p.g 102) Jack throws away the idea of civilization and respect for others by saying this. Characterization is widely used in "Lord of the Flies", Golding gave each character different personalities. We reveal each personality of each character by their actions. Ralph and Jack don't necessarily get along because they both have different intentions. Jack is characterized as the antagonist of this story. The priority to get home isn't really Jack's first attainment, and he becomes the leader of the hunters when Ralph appointed him to be, when he was voted chief during the beginning of the book. Jack's instinct become savage-like, while Ralph is trying to prolong the smoke so they could be rescued home. Ralph is characterized as the protagonist, throughout the book Ralph authority fades as Jack becomes increasingly wild. Piggy is sided with Ralph, and is usually ignored and bullied. He's the intellectual one of the group of boys, but because of his appearances he's treated badly by the others. As we get deeper into the book, we find out Roger's personality is naturally evil, and barbaric. There was a sense of darkness and mysteriousness about Roger when he first occured up in the book. While Roger is naturally evil, Simon is naturally good. Simon is in touch with nature, and he's the only one who remains himself from the beginning till the end. Literary Devices One major literary device that is used throughout chapter 6 is suspense. Suspense is the intense feeling that an audience goes through while waiting for an outcome of certain events. It basically leaves the reader holding their breath and wanting more information about what is going to happen. The amount of intensity in a suspenseful moment is why it is hard to put a book down in some portions of the book as you read. Take this quote for example, "Sam looked at Eric irritably. The intensity of Eric's gaze made the direction in which he looked terrible, for Sam had his back to it. He scrambled around the fire, squatted by Eric, and looked to see. They became motionless, gripped in each other's arms, four unwinking eyes aimed and two mouths open (Page 98)." This quote has the audience guessing on what strikes fear into Sam and Eric, and has them intrigued in what they are so afraid about. Overall, suspense is used throughout this entire book to keep the readers on their feet, as well as keeping them guessing to what they think might happen next. Another literary element that is used for the duration of this chapter is imagery. Imagery is when the author uses words and phrases to create mental images for the reader. This helps the reader to visualize more realistically about the author’s writings. On page (96) it says, "Then, each time the wind dropped, the lines would slacken and the figure bow forward again, sinking its head between its knees. So the stars moved across the sky, the figure sat on the mountaintop and bowed and sank and bowed again." This quote describes what the wind does to the dead parachutist that is tangled up and mangled in the trees. The way Golding specifically states the figure bowed and sank again and again, really gives the reader that crucial image in their mind to help picture and understand what is really going on at that specific time. The last literary element that will be disused is mood. Mood evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers through words and descriptions. It also refers to the mental and emotional disposition of the author towards a subject. "Neither of the boys screamed but the grip of their arms tightened and their mouths grew peaked (page 98)." "The circle of boys shrank away in horror. Johnny, yawning still, burst into noisy tears (page 100)." Both of these quotes give us the reader feelings and ideas that there is a huge sense of fear amongst all the boys in the group. The author uses mood a lot in the beginning of chapter 6, to help emphasize how afraid the boys really are of the mysterious beast. Quotations "'You haven't got the conch,' he said.'Sit down.' "(Golding pg. 102) "'Conch! Conch!' shouted Jack. 'We don't need the conch anymore. We ought to say things. What good did Simon do speaking, or Bill, or Walter? It's time some people knew they've got to keep quiet and leave deciding things to the rest of us.' " (Golding pg. 101-102) "This is more than a hunter's job."(Golding pg. 102) "because you can't track the beast. And don't you want to be rescued?"(Golding pg. 102) "Simon mumbled confusedly: 'I don't believe in the beast.'"(Golding pg. 105) "I'm chief. We've got to make certain. Can't you see the mountain? There's no signal showing. There may be a ship out there. Are you all off your rockers?"(Golding pg. 108) "Jack led the way down the rock and across the bridge."(Golding pg. 108) Works Cited Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. New York: Penguin,1954. Print. Media Works Cited http://sampaints.com/2009/10/02/lord-of-the-flies/